Bridgeton pioneer., 1887-04-28
Y. NJ. C. A.
The address of Rev. r. G.. Cass on
Winning Young Men"

The Annual meeting of the Young
Mems Christian Association was held
in the rooms of the Gymnasium We'd
nesday. The attendance, which by the
way was mostly composed of ladies
was large and appreciative one. On
the platform sat President Theis and
the speaker of the evening Rev. 7. G.,
Cass, of the First Baptist Church.
The meeting was opened by the
choir of the First Presbyterian Church
beautifully rendering without accom-
paniment Nearer My God to Thee"
President J. H. Theis read portion
of the Scriptures from..the 25th chapter
of Matthew. Prayer followed by Rev.
Mr.. Cass, and the choir sang ''Holy,
Holy, Holy" magnificently. Presi-
dent Theis then read his annual report,
in which he said:
This had been an eventfnl year in
the history of the Y. M. C. A. The
moving to the spacious rooms now oc-
cupied had placed upon the Associa-
tion additional responsibilities, from a
financial point of view. What is the
object of this Association? The object
of the Association, was to bring young
men to Christ. To do this, natural
means were necessary, such as the
gymnasium, games, educational classes
and social amusements, remembering
however. the one great object at all
times, that of the Salvation of souls.
The expenses of the Association
since its new departures had largely
increased, and that they must be met
was a fact that could not be over
looked. The support of the people
was necessary, and that all who con-
tributed might feel assured that their
money would be most judiciously used.
For a period of months, the Associa-
tion had been without a General Secre-
tary, but now God had answered their
prayer and sent the present gentleman,
who by his wise actions has greatly
new features to the Sunday afternoon
prayer meeting which have largely in
creased the attendance. The Commit
tees were commencing to work we'll.
The Jail prayer meeting held at 8
o'clock a. III. Sundays was doing good,
and the Boys meeting held on Tues
day evening, was attended by large
number. There was also movement
on foot to establish a boys branch.
The Ladies Auxiliary was a decided
advantage and the Ladies were always
ready to aid in any manner the pro-
gress of the work. The future Of the
Association now seems very bright,
and no unsurmountable barriers ap-
peared. The State Convention which
will commence to-day, in the opinion
of the President will greatly strengthen
the efforts of the young men who will
be in attendance.
The election of seven directors to
serve for the ensuing three years was
postponed until after the address.
''Winning Young Men" was the sub
ject of a very plain, practical and brief
address by Rev. T. G. Cass. His first
words were that Sidney Smith once
said every young man should be en-
gagged or occupied, and he should be
occupied in the highest calling he
could carry successfully" There are,
said the speaker, but two outcomes of
anything, a successful or adverse out
come. The word success, he thought,
was very liable to be misinterpreted,
and young man nowadays is only
considered successful when he is highly
educated and cultured Every young
man cannot expect to be Wana
maker or Stewart, a Choate or Web
ster. Now, in the first place, man
to be successful must have a purpose.
Having that purpose, they must, as
mariners, tack when they meet ad
verse winds, and only have in view the
accomplishment of that purpose. A
young man shonld question himself as
to what he is fitted for in this life, and
then let him put all his energies to its
accomplishment.
Honesty is a necessary qualification
for II successful man. If man is hon
est, as Burns said, he is a ''man for a
that" Another qualification which
the speaker discoursed elaborately
upon was temperance. To day man
must be temperate. He should not
look upon that which destroys the
mind. You may say it is not any Of
your business, but it is. He illustrated
that point by a fact which had come
under his knowledge:
A man had been approached to help
on the temperance work, but he had
turned a deaf ear, saying that it was
not his business. Later. he was to
meet train which was bearing to
him his wife and two children. But
twenty-five miles from its destination
the train had lnat with an awful dis